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The first Member Roadshow of the GCC ‘Board Directors Institute’ (BDI) is set for May 30, 2012, in Manama, Bahrain. The theme is ‘Celebrating 5 Years of Corporate Governance Excellence in the GCC.’ The roadshow will feature keynote address from the Governor of Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), Mr. Rasheed Mohammed Al Maraj.

Dr. Abdullah AlAbdulgader, BDI Founding Executive Director, commented, “BDI has greatly achieved what it had set to achieve. During the short 5 years, we have connected with over 300 members of GCC senior board directors, and we have made tremendous efforts to develop, share and introduce the latest knowledge and best practices on corporate governance to the region. We are now pleased to be on the road to celebrate the many successes of our members, to enhance their engagement in BDI, and share with them our growth plans that will make BDI more resourceful, effective and accessible for them.”

The half a day event, will feature speakers from around the region, including Mr. Abdullatif Al-Othman, Saudi Aramco Sr. Vice President, Engineering & Project Management, Mr. Mutlaq Almorished Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) Executive Vice President, Corporate Finance and Mr. Mohammed Al-Shroogi, Investcorp’s President, Gulf Business. BDI members will have the opportunity to hear dialogues on the development of corporate governance culture in the region, and take part in roundtable discussions on board effectiveness and the future of corporate governance in the region. Throughout the GCC, the roadshow will be making 5 stops over the next few months.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Rasheed Mohammed Al Maraj, Governor of CBB, said, “Boards in the GCC have a tremendous will to raise their effectiveness, and BDI has thrived in an effort to bring the classroom into the boardroom. While this roadshow is a celebration of the continued corporate governance developments in the region, it is equally a great opportunity to pause to consider where corporate governance will and should be in the next five years.”

“With the breadth, depth, and diversity of our members, I believe BDI potential is virtually endless. With the support of our Corporate Partners, Governors, and Faculty, I have every confidence that BDI will continue to advance to great grounds,” Dr. AlAbdulgader concluded.

Earlier this year, BDI set up an office in Bahrain and was registered as a Professional Body, in the Kingdom of Bahrain, under the umbrella of the CBB.

Vanuatu – a string of more than 80 islands once known as the New Hebrides – achieved independence from France and Britain in 1980.

Local traditions are strong. Women, for example, generally have lower social standing than men and have fewer educational opportunities.

Despite strong growth, the economy has struggled to meet the needs of Vanuatu's expanding population.

The main sources of revenue are agriculture and eco-tourism. Both depend on the weather, and when, as in 1999, cyclones and persistent rain hit Vanuatu, both suffer.

Tax revenue is derived from import duties, and neither personal income nor company profits are taxed.

Vanuatu tightened up its tax and regulatory systems after the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development warned that it could face sanctions if lax taxation regimes were exploited by criminals for money-laundering.

Australia, a key donor, has pushed for good governance and economic reform in the islands.

Abu Dhabi : President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan tasked His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, with leading the UAE delegation to the GCC Consultative Summit, which will take place in Riyadh today.

Shaikh Khalifa made the decision when he received Shaikh Mohammad and His Highness Shaikh Hamad Bin Mohammad Al Sharqi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Fujairah, yesterday at Al Bateen Palace.

General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince, were present.

Shaikh Khalifa expressed his wish that the summit would achieve the desired objectives of the Gulf people for more cooperation and integration between GCC nations. He said that this will enhance the GCC’s march and will highlight its role at both the regional and international level.

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The first drone attack killed seven people after it hit one of three vehicles carrying the suspected militants in the district of Huraib, the officials said. The other two vehicles fled the area unharmed and continued toward the southern Abyan province.

A heavy government presence was at the scene immediately after the attack and residents said thick smoke and flames could be seen from miles away.

The dead included three al Qaeda leaders, according to the officials, who called the attack a blow to the al Qaeda network in the country.

About 30 minutes later, another drone strike killed another four suspected al Qaeda militants in the same central Yemeni province, the same security officials said.

The strikes occurred nearly a week after a senior operative of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was killed by a CIA drone strike and less than three weeks after a Yemeni-linked terror plot to bring down a U.S.-bound jetliner was foiled.

Fahd al Quso, 37, was killed while riding in a vehicle in the Rafdh district in Shabwa province on Sunday, according to officials.

Al Quso was indicted by a federal grand jury in New York in 2003 on 50 counts of terrorism offenses for his role in the October 12, 2000, bombing of the USS Cole in Aden, Yemen. The bombing killed 17 U.S. sailors.

The terror plot revealed this week has been described by U.S. officials as involving a device that is an evolution of the bomb smuggled aboard a U.S.-bound plane on Christmas Day 2009 by a young Nigerian, Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab. The device originated in Yemen and was brought to authorities’ attention by a mole who infiltrated al Qaeda, a source in the region told CNN this week. The man works for Saudi intelligence, which has cooperated with the CIA for years, the source said. Information from the mole also led to Sunday’s drone strike against al Quso.

Three months before his death, al Quso foreshadowed the thwarted attack.

“The war didn’t end between us and our enemies,” al Quso told a local journalist. “Wait for what is coming.”

On Thursday, eight suspected militants were killed in southern Yemen by a U.S. drone strike targeting a convoy of senior leaders of the Ansar al-Sharia militant network, an offshoot of al Qaeda. The strike, which was preceded by a string of airstrikes by Yemen’s air force, occurred in the Jaar district of Abyan province.

Yemen’s government has been fighting al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula for years with mixed results.

Suspected al-Qaeda militants seized Abyan last year during Yemen’s political stalemate after government troops evacuated most military posts in the province.

Booz Allen Hamilton announced it has been licensed by the Qatar Financial Centre Authority to pursue business opportunities in Qatar in support of domestic economic diversification. Thefirm will focus its expertise on providing specialist services to government and commercial clients on critical issues related to the nation’s development, most notably in the areas of information technology, cyber security and transportation and other selected infrastructure.

Qatar is showing rapid development and growth of its economy, including areas in which Booz Allen Hamilton has significant expertise. “It is worth noting that, in terms of connectivity alone, Qatar placed 28th out of 142 countries surveyed in the World Economic Forum’s Global Information and Communications Report 2012, and impressive strides have been taken in arange of sectors,” said Senior Vice President Don Pressley, who leads the firm’s MENA operations. “These trends are emblematic of an economy in an exciting growth phase that Booz Allen Hamilton is ideally placed to support. We bring to Qatar much more than just our extensive prior experience in the Middle East. Booz Allen Hamilton is known for its focus on our clients’ most important missions, our inspired thinking and a strategic approach to technology that delivers sustainable economic growth.”

Booz Allen Hamilton will draw on nearly 100 years of global experience in support of Qatar’s economic diversification beyond the hydrocarbon sector and the pursuit of its detailed development plan. The firm will offer expertise in capability building to strengthen necessary skills and institution building to help existing organizations mature and prosper. Booz Allen Hamilton anticipates providing Qatari organizations specific and extensive expertise in key sectors, including energy, financial services, healthcare, mobile technologies and core infrastructure with an emphasis onsustainable economic growth.

In addition, the firm will guide civil government, defense and security clients in the development of their technological capabilities while ensuring the security of their data, systems, and infrastructure. Booz Allen Hamilton’s highly effective cyber capabilities can offer specific value in Qatar to protect its developing economy and infrastructure against the growing trend of global cyber-attacks. To thwart these attacks, Booz Allen Hamilton believes that clients must embrace a comprehensive and dynamic cyber-defense capability in response to the aggressive, creative, and methodical approach in which cyber adversaries attack.

Booz Allen Hamilton’s registration to do business in Qatar is a key pillar in its strategy to engage in the Middle East as a full partner in the growth and development of the region. The firm will continue to expand its government and commercial consulting business in the Middle East and North Africa.

Booz Allen Hamilton’s non-compete agreement with Booz & Co. expired in 2011, with respect to the international and commercial business the firm spun off in 2008. Booz Allen Hamilton has since established a MENA regional headquarters office in Abu Dhabi, with staff deployed elsewhere in the region. The firm is marketing a broad spectrum of organization and strategy, program management and other services in support of government and commercial clients across the region.

Forty-nine mutilated bodies have been found dumped by a roadside near the city of Monterrey in northern Mexico.

Nuevo Leon's prosecutor, Adrian de la Garza, said the fact that hands and heads had been cut off made it difficult to identify the victims, but he said it was possible they were Central American migrants.

The grim find comes just days after police discovered the dismembered, decapitated bodies of 18 people in two abandoned vehicles in western Mexico.

Earlier this month 23 dead bodies – 14 of them decapitated – were found in the border city of Nuevo Laredo, also in Nuevo Leon state.

Around 50,000 people have died in drug-related violence in Mexico since 2006, when President Felipe Calderon deployed the army to combat the cartels.

The BBC's Will Grant, in Mexico City says the latest killings show that, although many Mexicans felt the drug violence had been easing this year, the conflict is still claiming many lives, often in the most brutal circumstances.

The three main candidates to succeed Mr Calderon in July's presidential election have all said they would work to end the violence, but have not offered any concrete plans.

Dubai When 54-year-old Indonesian Sukanto Utomo got a call last week from Mashreq Bank he thought it was to do with some missing payment.

However, the engineer from Jakarta got the shock of his life — and a hugely pleasant one at that — when he was told he had won a Dh1.2 million dream house in Abu Dhabi’s posh Al Raha Beach community.

The draw was part of the Mashreq Abu Dhabi campaign for its customers in the capital.

Lady Luck

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Dubai In an interactive awareness workshop more than 250 students from seven schools were educated on the potentially life-threatening effects of drugs.

The workshop was organised on Tuesday by the British Embassy in partnership with Dubai Police and the Shaikh Mohammad Centre for Cultural Understanding (SMCCU).

The talk was structured around a drug addict’s testimony, Dubai Police psychologist’s views, drug samples and a Q&A session with the students.

Speaking to Gulf News about the need for drug awareness among students, Thyab Atta Ali, Head of Electronic Awareness, General Department of Community Service, Dubai Police, said: "Our presentations involve the audience — an effective approach to communicate our message.

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